Category Archives: Soccer

Have you ever wondered what makes Jose Mourinho one of the most successful football managers that ever lived? Take a look at this infographic that delves into his management tactics, and see what you can learn from the master. Continue reading →

In the aftermath of the Champions League clash between Manchester United and Real Madrid (1-2) the discussions are heated. Reporters, fans and otherwise acknowledged experts debate who deserved the win. One word that comes repeatedly to the surface is “possession”. Here is the explanation of possession in football/soccer: Continue reading →

The deal, which will take Giggs beyond his 40th birthday, has been agreed after an outstanding series of performances from the veteran and will stop speculation that he would retire at the end of the season. Continue reading →

Soccer is life: Pep Guardiola decided to join Bayern Munich after a year long break from soccer. What do you think? Did he do the right thing by ditching the Premier League for the German Bundesliga? Let us know your … Continue reading →

Soccer, Social Media – With Lionel Messi becoming the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or for the fourth consecutive year, it isn’t surprising he is the most talked about footballer on the planet, having amassed over 2 million tweets in one month. However he is overtaken by Christian Ronaldo whose 16 million followers on Twitter ensure he is never out of the news. Our infographic lets you see who is following who in the world of football on Twitter.

When ever The New York Cosmos showed up on the door step of soccer they turned heads. People were watching. That was certainly true the first time around, in the 70’s and 80’s, and it is still true now. For many, the Cosmos are the birth giver for American soccer and a look at American soccer history clearly confirms that view. While there has been soccer before the Cosmos, the club created a major buzz in the 70’s when a number of super stars in Cosmos colors roamed the fields in the United States and stunned the masses. Pele, Beckenbauer, the late Giorgio Chinaglia and many others that played for the club are unforgotten heroes for New York City soccer fans and the entire soccer world.

Today, things for the history rich soccer club are different. After disappearing in the mid 80’s, the club and brand rested in a drawer. Other new soccer clubs tried to step in and help the sport thrive in the United States. A couple of years back, an English business man bought the rights and attempted to bring the Cosmos back into professional soccer and the MLS. While the soccer part of the attempt more or less failed, it created considerable buzz and indeed brought the brand back to life. The Englishman sold the club to new ownership and since then new signs of life can be registered. This time, the signs show the necessary seriousness and means.

On November 8th, Erik Stover was introduced as the club’s new COO. Erik Stover is a long time professional in the industries of sports and soccer and has shown his abilities before with the other New York soccer club, Red Bull New York. Listening to Stover’s words and looking at the activities around the club, there is no doubt that this time the Cosmos will re-emerge and take an important part in American soccer. This might not be a process of a year or two, but the club now has the means to create a major U.S. soccer and business force.

The New York Cosmos are not only a soccer club. Also unforgotten are the pictures of the 70’s and 80’s super stars of all ways of life associating themselves with the Cosmos. The club stands for entertainment, multi cultural life, business, global flair and doing things the New York City and American way. Without denying the accomplishments of other sports franchises, there is just no other that can match its characteristics and opportunity better to New York City and America. A fact that was true 30 years ago, and still is.

The New York Cosmos, Stover and his staff will have their hands full in dealing with the expectations, opportunity and the responsibilities this club has. There is much more behind this than just revitalizing a soccer club. Good luck, the soccer world is watching, again.

SunSport can reveal some Blues stars are sceptical about the shock allegations and pressure is mounting on the club to physically prove the remarks were made.

Significantly, the club have not yet officially complained to the police about the alleged incident — even though the Society of Black Lawyers has.

Mikel’s team-mates Ramires and David Luiz told the midfielder they heard ref Clattenburg make an ‘inappropriate comment’ during Blues’ 3-2 defeat against Manchester United nine days ago.

They were so furious they asked for Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay to go to the dressing room after the game and listen to their version of events.

An insider said: “They were saying the club had to look after them and take action. They said the club had stood by John Terry in his race row with Anton Ferdinand and now it had to do the same for them.

“But the other players weren’t so vocal and wanted a cooling-down period — mainly because they didn’t hear the ref say anything.”

Even if Clattenburg, 37, is proved innocent, it may be many years before he is allowed to officiate at a Chelsea game again.

He is being ‘rested’ again this weekend while the FA investigates and a refs’ insider told SunSport: “There are concerns about the implications of him refereeing a Chelsea match.

“For starters it would place the pre-match handshake under great scrutiny yet again, as all the players are supposed to shake hands with the ref before each game.

“If Mark was put back in charge of a Chelsea match immediately afterwards, the attention would be phenomenal.

“It may even make sense to keep him away from Chelsea for good, which is a shame as he is one of this country’s top three referees — and Chelsea are one of the top three football clubs.”

Clattenburg, who denies allegations made by the Blues, is due to meet the FA and police this week.